RSS
News


Home Page > News > How Catholic voters re-elected Mike Bloomberg as New York mayor

Blogs


comment on article 1 Comment
print this article Print
email this articleE-mail

How Catholic voters re-elected Mike Bloomberg as New York mayor

'Throw the bums out' was election theme

By
ROBERT REYNOLDS,
IrishCentral.com Political Editor

Published Wednesday, November 4, 2009, 8:10 AM
Updated Wednesday, November 4, 2009, 10:06 AM

 

Bookmark and Share

Helping hand from the Irish: Mayor Mike Bloomberg at an Irish football event in Queens, New York
Helping hand from the Irish: Mayor Mike Bloomberg at an Irish football event in Queens, New York

It's now clear that Michael Bloomberg became New York's third term mayor because of the Catholic vote.

Irish and Italians in the boroughs of Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island provided the margin of victory for Bloomberg in a much tighter contest than was anticipated. An early analysis of voting by The New York Times confirms this fact.

Once again, Irish Catholics proved a key swing vote. While they lack the numbers, they are the most important niche vote in the city right now.

Stunned Bloomberg aides told The New York Times they had expected a blowout, but the big loser on the night was not the Democratic challenger, Comptroller William Thompson.

That would be Congressman Anthony Weiner, who missed his chance at history by withdrawing from the race when it looked like Bloomberg was a shoo-in with a massive war chest. Weiner would have been a much more formidable opponent than Thompson.

In the end, voters deeply resented Mayor MIke for putting himself in the race by changing the two-term-limit rules. Their anger overcame the fact that 70 percent of them thought he was doing a good job as Mayor.

His near-death experience does not bode well for City Council President Christine Quinn, who wants to be mayor in four years and went along with the term limit overturn to further her career. The Irish American pol will have her work cut out for her.

Elsewhere  across the country, the same anti-incumbent mood was in clear view.

In almost every major race, the party on the outs was elected. The message was clear: People are worried sick abut the economy and the politicians in power don't get it.

In upstate New York, a Democrat was elected for the first time in over 100 years thanks to right-wing talk shows and the Wall Street Journal editorial page driving the selected Republican from the race.

In New Jersey, Jon Corzine couldn't spend his way to victory, and in Virginia, Notre Dame grad Bob McDonnell  ran a smart centrist campaign that got him elected.

The message for Obama and leaders of both parties? We're hurting out here. Do something.

print this article Print
email this articleE-mail


1 Comment

It may take several minutes for your comment to appear.
Report abuse
Posted by Watchman on Nov 05, 2009, 11:32 AM EST
About what?
 


Click to learn more from DiscoverIreland.com.
IrishCentral Mobile QR code


Connect to IrishCentral with your Facebook account

or sign-in directly

Welcome to IrishCentral!
Please provide the following information in order to create your account

Username:
E-Mail Address:
Password:
Confirm Password:
I agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy


Welcome to IrishCentral!
All we need is the following information and you will be part of the #1 Irish community in the US

E-Mail Address:
First select a unique username:
Username:
Now choose a password:
Password:
Confirm Password:
I agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy
Thank you!

Just one more step and you will be part of the largest Irish community in America! Tell us a little more about you to start enjoying all the features of IrishCentral.

Additional Information:

First Name:
Last Name:
Date of Birth:
Zip:
Gender: Male  Female 
Country:
Degree of Irishness:
Household Income:
Level of Education:

Subscribe to our newsletters:

The Best of IrishCentral - Daily Newsletter
Special Offers from our sponsors

or
Skip

You can edit your information at any time, just go to "my account" when you're logged in.

Log into IrishCentral with your Facebook account

or sign-in directly

E-Mail:
Password:
 Remember me Forgot my password